


You call that discreet?

by iliveinthemoon



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Easter, First Kiss, Fluff, I found this and thought I'd share it, M/M, Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-04
Updated: 2015-12-04
Packaged: 2018-05-04 20:22:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5347367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iliveinthemoon/pseuds/iliveinthemoon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Liv hosts an Easter gathering.  Barba can't really do discreet but is Carisi really that oblivious?</p><p>Sorry I'm bad at titles and tagging :/</p>
            </blockquote>





	You call that discreet?

**Author's Note:**

> Hello. I found this hiding away in a folder and thought hey why not share it - it's just a bit of fluff.
> 
> Disclaimer - I own nothing regarding the characters

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

There’s a knock at the front door and Olivia walks over to answer it, she figures it’ll be Carisi seeing as he messaged her to tell her that he was going to be late as he was helping Tommy with something.

‘Carisi. Finally.’ She smiles at him as she opens the door and finds her ‘missing’ detective on her doorstep.

‘Hey Lieutenant. Sorry I’m late. I was helping Tommy with a job. He was one away from his target and his usual partner called in with a hangover, so Tommy asked if I could help him out. He gets a bonus if he meets his target and I didn’t want him to miss out, you know. The money is for Bella and my niece too.’ Carisi rambles as he nervously rubs the back of his neck and looks to the ground like a kid about to be told off.

‘Carisi, it’s fine. You don’t have to explain. We’re not at work.’ She smiles and steps aside so he can go inside her apartment.

Liv closes the front door and Carisi walks into the living area.

‘Whoa, I didn’t know it was fancy dress.’ Amanda instantly jokes when she looks up from the couch and catches sight of Carisi.

Carisi looks back at her confused. He doesn’t get what she means about fancy dress. He’s not wearing a costume.

‘You, you’ve clearly come as a lumberjack or a mountaineer.’ She giggles at him while pointing at his clothes.

Carisi glances down, then back up at her and shakes his head, a blank expression still on his face.

‘I’ve been doing a job with Tommy. He had one job left to meet his target so I gave him a hand.’ Carisi replies as Liv walks past him to the kitchen, shaking her head at Amanda and Fin – who are sat on the couch together.

‘Sorry. It was just….. just too good to resist, you know.’ Amanda apologies with a smile as Carisi brushes it off and steps over to the baby seat containing Amanda’s daughter.

‘Hey there precious. Do you wanna hug from Uncle Sonny? Do you? Okay then.’ Carisi coos at the tot while Amanda and Fin watch on. 

Carisi picks up the little girl from the baby seat and steps back in a world of his own.

‘Wait till Barba catches sight of this. He’ll choke.’ Fin whispers into Amanda’s ear as he leans in toward her.

She sniggers and nods in response before watching as Carisi coos over her baby daughter. He’s obviously a complete natural with babies and children, it comes from being from a large Italian family, and his help has been a godsend for Amanda. Especially after the whole Kim incident. Her Mother did come back to New York after Amanda gave birth and stuck around for two weeks, before once again insulting Amanda and flouncing back off to Georgia. At first it almost broke Amanda’s heart and resolve, but with the help of her colleagues – mostly Carisi, she found her inner strength to carry on.

Fin nudges Amanda when he hears the voice of Barba in the hall. He’d taken a call in Liv’s bedroom. Amanda turns her head to look over the back of the couch and into the kitchen when she hears his footsteps. 

‘Holy fuck.’ Barba mutters when he looks into the living area of Liv’s apartment and sees Carisi standing in the middle of the room in a pair of jeans, tight white wife-beater, black and red checked shirt with a few buttons done up and the sleeves rolled up past his elbows, sandstone work boots and his usually perfect hair escaping it’s gel constraints.

‘Hey counselor.’ Carisi smiles over at Barba when he looks up from Amanda’s daughter.

Barba feels a little lightheaded as he just stares at the other man. His palms are sweating and his throat his dry. Not to mention his stomach is doing one continuous backflip and his heart is fluttering like a million butterflies. He reaches forward and grips the kitchen counter as Liv steps in beside him.

‘Down boy.’ She smirks into his ear and he manages to tear his eyes away from Carisi to side eye her.

Amanda turns back to look at Carisi with her daughter and smiles, she can totally see it. She gets it. The sight of Carisi a little sweaty and maybe a little dirty in that outfit cradling a little baby could have a similar effect on her if it weren’t for the fact that it’s Carisi.

Barba takes a moment to compose himself and take a deep breath, before letting go of the counter and stepping back and reaching for his glass of wine. He takes a gulp fully aware that Liv is watching him intently.

It is no secret to her that he has a bit of a thing for the detective. He’d let it slip shortly after Carisi shadowed him on the Hoda trial in November, after he’d downed more whiskey than normal to drown his sorrows at the outcome. Liv didn’t even pretend to be surprised, she told him that she’d figured it out a couple of months before, but didn’t really want to broach the subject because she knows how private Barba is.

Liv steps in closer to him and places a gently hand on his forearm.

‘Go steady.’ She says quietly as their eyes meet and he can see that she means it in the best possible way, she clearly doesn’t want him to make a fool of himself.

He nods curtly before taking a smaller sip and his eyes drift back to the young detective, who’s still cooing over Amanda’s daughter.

There’s another knock at the front door and Liv hurries off to answer it, leaving Barba in the kitchen alone with his thoughts and wine. The wine he can cope with, but his thoughts are a different matter. His thoughts of how Carisi’ shirt is showing off his toned arms to perfection, of how he wants to rip it off the younger man and do rude things to him. Just the thought of his thoughts is making him feel weak at the knees.

Liv reappears with Mike behind her – who smiles at the gathered detectives in the living area, as hellos are exchanged. The two head for the kitchen and Barba sighs quietly. He’s not a fan of small talk the best of times, but having to make small talk with the son of Chief Dodds is not something he wants to be doing right now. Besides it’ll interrupt his lusting after Carisi – who still seems utterly oblivious to him and it.

‘Hello Mr. Barba.’ Mike smiles and offers his hand out for the ADA to shake.

Barba has to fight the urge to roll his eyes and instead chooses to accept Mike’s greeting.

‘Hello Sargent.’ Barba smiles looking straight at him.

\------------------------------

Barba has had enough of the small talk with Mike and excuses himself from the kitchen where he felt like he’d been pinned by the Lieutenant and Sargent. He had knocked back a couple more glasses of wine after Carisi had arrived - much to the chagrin of Liv – and now he needs some air.

He walks to the door and leaves without a word to the detectives in the living area.

‘Has he just left without saying goodbye?’ Carisi blurts as the three of them look between each other.

‘He’s just gone to grab some air.’ Liv interjects from the kitchen.

‘Oh okay.’ Carisi mutters as he looks off in the direction of the front door.

‘Well, I think I should be getting home.’ Amanda announces as she stands up from the couch.

‘That’s my cue.’ Fin adds, as he too gets to his feet – he’d driven Amanda and her daughter to the gathering, so it was only right he drove them home.

Amanda turns around to face her boss.

‘Liv, I’m going to get off now. Fin’s going to drive us home.’ She informs the other woman, who nods in return.

Amanda quickly heads for Liv’s bedroom - where she’d put her little girl down for a nap, as Noah is asleep in his room. Fin and Mike engage in a bit of small talk while Carisi sits ideally in the living area, fiddling his thumbs, every now and then glancing up at the front door, all under the watchful eye of his commanding officer.

Amanda reappears with her daughter in her baby seat and heads for the kitchen. Liv and Mike step out into the hall and Mike kisses Amanda on the cheek and wishes her a happy Easter. He then reaches over and shakes Fin’s hand and wishes him the same.

Amanda and Fin head to the front door and now Carisi is on his feet. He wishes Fin a happy Easter with a brief hug and then a hug and kiss for Amanda, before tickling the little girl’s belly and wishing her a happy Easter too. Liv follows suit and wishes them all a happy Easter and gives hugs before the trio leave, saying that they’ll probably see Barba outside to wish him a happy Easter.

With Amanda and Fin now gone Mike tells Liv and Carisi that he should get going – he’s got a family dinner to attend. He kisses Liv on the cheek and shakes Carisi’ hand before disappearing out of the door.

Now it is just Liv and Carisi. She pushes the front door too, but not close so Barba can get back in. Carisi stands in the hall looking a little awkward.

‘You okay Carisi?’ Liv asks him as she picks up a few glasses from her coffee table.

‘Huh? Oh yeah, I’m fine.’ He mumbles with adverted eyes.

‘Are you sure? Because you don’t look fine.’ She points out as she walks past him to the kitchen, glasses clinking in her hands.

‘No, I’m good. All good.’ Carisi smiles, but she can tell it’s forced, but she’s not going to press him.

‘Do you wanna hand?’ Carisi smiles, genuinely this time.

‘Yeah sure.’ She answers him with her own smile. 

Carisi begins clearing away at such speed she has no chance of even getting involved. Neither of them notices Barba sneak back in, until he stands behind them and coughs to make his presence known.

‘Rafael, I didn’t notice you come back in.’ Liv stammers a little startled by his cough, but he just half smiles at her.

‘Need a hand?’ He asks.

‘Nah I’ve got this covered counselor.’ Carisi replies from the counter where he’s loading the dishwasher.

Barba nods and stands awkwardly. Liv notices and looks at Carisi.

‘You know what Carisi, why don’t you leave this to me. I’m sure you’d sooner be in Staten Island with your family rather than doing my cleaning.’ Liv says and her voice is commanding enough that he knows it’s no good arguing with her.

‘Uh, yeah. I mean if you’re sure?’ Carisi mumbles as he turns to face her and catches sight of Barba looking a little down in the mouth – he knows it’s his cue to leave, as they clearly want to talk.

Liv smiles at him and pulls him in for a quick hug and wishes him a happy Easter. Next he steps in front of the attorney. At first it is painfully awkward and neither knows what to do – should they shakes hands or hug? In the end Barba offers his hand and Carisi is visibly relieved but also a little disappointed, to accept it and offer Easter wishes.

After popping his head round Noah’s door Carisi is gone out of the apartment, leaving just Liv and Barba.

‘Coffee?’ She asks cheerfully despite the desperate expression on the man’s face.

‘It was obvious wasn’t it?’ He grumbles as he drops onto her couch.

‘No, no, if you call staring at him all night discreet, then you were fine.’ She quips while making the coffee.

Barba sighs and buries his head in his hands. There’s a knock at the front door and Liv looks puzzled as she goes to open it.

‘Carisi?’ Both she and Barba say in unison as he gets to his feet.

‘Sorry Lieutenant, but I gotta do this.’ Carisi states, as he strides into her apartment heading straight for Barba and cups the older man’s face and plants a kiss right on his lips.

Liv rolls her eyes and smirks from the doorway – it had been a long time coming.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading - I don't really write fluff so I hope it wasn't all that bad :)
> 
> Sorry for any mistakes it's late :)


End file.
